Super Smash Party
by Casandravus
Summary: Master Hand has gathered the most seasoned Smashers - and some newer members - for another season in Smash Mansion. This isn't just a Brawl - it's a Party! Wait... where are the Smashers disappearing to?
1. The Gathering

**Disclaimer:** Brawl belongs to Nintendo. Not me.

**Note:** Finally! I have time to revise and - dun, dun, DUN! - _complete_ this fanfiction! Red is the name I'm using for the Pokèmon Trainer.

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: The Gathering<strong>

Most people wouldn't think that something was being planned out in space. Anyone that would was called insane and the topic was dropped at that. Little did they know that the 'insane' ones were actually right.

A massive hand tapped its fingers on nothing, trying to come up with something to do, because let's face it – space is probably extremely boring if you're a giant hand with no entertainment. This hand went by Master Hand, or simply Master would do, thank you very much. It was seemingly out of nowhere that Master came up with its – it was probably a male hand – most grand idea. "Another reunion of the Smashers should be just the thing to amuse me," and with a mad laugh, the hand was gone.

Meta Knight was flying over Dream Land, patrolling it to make sure King Dedede wasn't doing anything stupid, as well as making sure no evil was afoot. Around his fourth lap above the peaceful world, a voice resounded in his mind. "This is now. Now is the time. Time for another Smashers tournament!" it said.

"Master Hand? What do you want?" the masked knight asked.

A deep chuckle and, "Oh, nothing really. Just something to entertain me," was his reply.

With a boom and a flash, Meta Knight, Kirby, and King Dedede found themselves back in the Smash Mansion once again.

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><p>Jigglypuff and Pikachu were walking and chit-chatting as a gloved hand appeared before them. Both of them moved as if to attack when the hand told them that he was throwing a party of sorts, and that they – along with Red (aka the Pokèmon Trainer) – were cordially invited. Another boom and flash later, they were at the Mansion as well.<p>

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><p>The six Smashers were alone in the foyer of the Mansion, for Master Hand hadn't reached all the other important worlds quite yet. Jigglypuff shyly walked towards Meta Knight. "Hey there," she said simply. "How did the hand get you?"<p>

Surprised at the fact that someone actually _wanted_ to talk to him, the mysterious Dream Land denizen hesitated before answering. "He said he wanted something to 'entertain him', and with a boom and a flash, we wound up here. You?"

Jigglypuff grimaced. "We were just talking – Pikachu and me, that is – and he comes to us and he's all, 'I'm throwing a little party, and _you're_ invited!' And now we're here with you, Red, Kirby, and Dedede."

Meta Knight couldn't help but laugh at the way she said the self-proclaimed king's name. It was uttered with such a serious face and such sarcasm that, despite his staid demeanor, he let out a chuckle. Eventually that chuckle caused the balloon Pokèmon to laugh, and that in itself caused a chain reaction of laughter til both of them were almost on the floor and their sides hurt.

By this time, Yoshi, Mario, Luigi, Wario, Peach, Bowser, and others had arrived.

For some reason, in spite of the suspicious intentions of Master Hand, Meta Knight had a feeling that this would be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.


	2. Rooming Accordingly

**Disclaimer: **Brawl belongs to Nintendo. Not me.

**Note:** I have established all the pairings that I plan to use in this fanfiction. I will not change them in any way, shape, form, or fashion. End of discussion.

**Second Note:** This story has over 100 hits! Thanks for checking this fic out.

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: Rooming Accordingly<strong>

The heroes of the other worlds had finally arrived. Once they were all assembled in the foyer, Master Hand appeared.

"I've told you all that I'm throwing a party," he explained, "but it's not just a regular party. Sure, there will be games and prizes and such, but in every game there is great risk…"

"It's a Mario Party!" Yoshi finished. "Genius thinking, Master Hand! There hasn't been one of those in _ages_!"

Any Party members present grinned and gave each other high-fives, accompanied with cheers. The risk of Parties wasn't as horrible as the hand had made it sound: it was nothing but winning and losing coins; whoever collected the most coins and the most Stars would win the board.

Someone's voice piped up, "Would you mind explaining to us _what_ a Mario Party is?"

"It's-a very simple," Mario addressed the room, "We're all-a transported to a board-a, and everyone takes turns, like on a game board-a. Whoever has the most coins – and Stars - a wins."

"But what about the losers?" asked a nervous Pikachu. "What happens to them?"

"Oh, nothing bad happens!" Peach answered. "They just don't get any money after the Party is over, that's all."

Luigi gave his own input. "And-a there are mini-games at the end of the last person's turn-a."

The other Smashers started getting restless. "That doesn't sound too bad," they murmered.

After musing a bit about the oncoming irony, Master Hand interrupted the stirring crowd. "Now, let's get down to rooming. Because this mansion is not big enough for all of you to have a room to yourselves," here he conjured three sheets, "Sheet One is for the rooming list – who's rooming with who. Two to four occupants to a room only. Sheet Two is for preferred location; East Wing, West Wing, or near the Party area. Sheet Three is for signatures approving your information for Sheet One and Sheet Two."

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><p>Seeing as Red had three other Pokèmon to deal with, and that Yoshi looked quite lonely even among the Partiers, Pikachu walked up to the green creature. "Uhm, would you mind sharing a room with me?"<p>

Yoshi was surprised – Mario and Luigi were getting to know Link and some of the others, leaving him out. To him it seemed that no one would want to room with him, so the actions of the yellow rat really made him wonder. "I guess not. My life tends to get lonely when the Mario brothers aren't around."

She smiled up at him, causing him to smile back. "I know what you mean, Red's so busy with the other Pokèmon that Jigglypuff, Lucario, and I never get attention from him anymore."

The duo walked towards the table where the rooming confirmation took place, and Pikachu heard some rather contagious laughter behind her. Turning, she saw Jigglypuff talking with Meta Knight. "Hey Jiggly!"

"Oh, hey Pikachu, how've you been holding up since we got here?" the green-eyed balloon asked. She was very concerned about her friends, especially the ones that she hadn't seen since they arrived.

Pikachu shrugged, "All right, I guess. I'm a bit nervous about this whole Mario Party thing, but other than that, I'm good."

Meta Knight decided to put in his two cents. "Honestly, _everybody_ who's never been in a Mario Party is nervous, even me..."

Jigglypuff had previously thought that nothing could frighten or unnerve Meta Knight simply because of the way he tended to act. This was quite the comforting discovery for the balloon Pokèmon.

Yoshi also wanted to get his opinion into the conversation, "They're not all that bad – even if you lose they're pretty amazing. There's not really a reason to be so stressed," this little speech earned him a smile from Pikachu. "Plus the mini games help improve your fighting skills."

As the group continued their conversation, the line for rooming moved up without any problems, and they came to the area where Sheet One lay. They all wanted to get to know each other better, so it was decided that all four of them would be put in one room, and after a bit of a row over where they wanted to be, they decided to sign up for a room in the East Wing.

A booming voice called out, "All right, the rooming is finished! Now, I'll announce the list of who's rooming with who…"

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><p>The rooming list was as follows: Link, Ike, Marth, and Pit; Wario, Kirby, Mario, and Luigi; Lucario, Red (with his three best Pokèmon in tow), PoPo, and Dedede; Zelda, Peach, Samus, and Toon Link; Mr. Game &amp; Watch, ROB, Lucas, and Ness; Diddy Kong, Donkey Kong, Ganondorf, and Captain Falcon; Bowser, Fox, Wolf, and Falco; Snake, Sonic, Olimar, and Nana; Meta Knight, Pikachu, Yoshi, and Jigglypuff.<p>

"Dinner will be served in three hours, until then, feel free to just kick back and relax," Master Hand told his guests. "Dismissed!" and with that, he vanished.

There was a lounge with a TV, a computer (with intergalactic Internet, of course), several coffee and soda fountain machines, snack vendors, and other things set up to amuse the Smashers for the time being.

However, everyone decided to go to their rooms and get used to the arrangements. The path to the West Wing had a path of bright dots on the floor with the color scheme of green-black-blue. The East Wing path had a red-purple-white color scheme, leaving the 'near the Party Area' path with yellow-gray-tan.

Once they all found their rooms (thanks to the plaques with each group's names beside the corresponding door), the Smashers discovered that there was individual luggage so that they'd have plenty of clothes (for those who wore clothes or other things like that) to change into during the time of the Party. And each one's clothes were properly tailored for their needs – except, in Bowser and Squirtle's cases, there were individual shells.

Toon Link jumped up and down excitedly on his bed. "This is so _awesome_!" he yelled. The door just _happened_ to be open, and his voice just _happened_ to be loud enough that everyone in the West Wing could hear him.

Under normal circumstances, someone would have shouted that he needed to shut up and keep it down. But these weren't normal circumstances. Thus, all that heard the younger the Hero of Light agreed and took his enthusiasm with them wherever they went.


	3. Missed Communication and Implication

**Disclaimer:** Brawl belongs to Nintendo. Not me.

**Note:** Yes, Yoshi IS a dragon. And Pikachu has a Southern drawl, apparently. xD

**Dedication:** This chapter is dedicated to PikaYoshiGirl for giving the first review of SSP _and_ for introducing me to Pikoshi. Thank you!

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: Missed Communication and Implication<strong>

The time flew by and dinner was served in the dining room. Some of the Smashers disagreed with it being called a dining _room_, as it was big enough to be called a _hall_ or a _floor_. Even though they had castles, Peach and Bowser were the ones most impressed by the size of the room, especially since all the other ones – minus the lounge – were of normal size.

A chandelier with numerous lights and jewels hung in the center of the ceiling above them, and every few feet of the table's length, candles of a smaller scale stood. The food had already been put down, and to the surprise of the Smashers, each dish had something from each world. "That's a feature for comfort," Master Hand said, in response to the gasps of amazement and looks that plainly stated how glad they were to eat their favorite foods.

Kirby tried one thing from everyone's dish, as was expected from a gluttonous chef like himself. He found that his favorites were Peach's cupcakes from Mushroom Kingdom, the bread that came from Lucas and Ness's world, Koopa soup, banana pudding from DK Aisles, and a Chozo delicacy from Samus's world.

Of course, there was much talking and laughing around the table. There was chatter about what each group's room looked like, recipes, fighting techniques, the upcoming Party, and all sorts of stuff.

"So, how are we going to set up in our room when all of us are ready to go to sleep?" Jigglypuff was the one who brought this up. "I mean, there're two guys and two girls… And I doubt Master Hand would like the guys sleeping with the girls – "

"Who's sleeping with girls!" Pit asked excitedly. "Who, who, _who_!"

"That's not what she meant!" Yoshi yelled. However, the green dragon was too late.

"They're sleeping with girls!" several of the more immature (namely Red, Wario, and Donkey Kong) Smashers exclaimed.

"What!" called out Nana and Zelda.

"Interesting conversation..." Marth and Ganondorf mused.

A certain blue-haired mercenary fell out of his chair laughing.

"What do they mean by 'sleeping with girls'?" Toon Link asked. Peach's face turned a dark shade of red as she covered Toon Link's ears.

"You idiots, _don't talk about stuff like that_! **_Fucking perverts_**!"

That shut _everybody_ up. Even Master Hand, who _always_ had something to say, didn't utter a word. However, there were several gasps at the fact that Peach (who never cussed with anything worse than "gosh" or "darn it) had used an actual cuss word.

With a face redder than Peach's, Jigglypuff cleared her throat. "What I was _trying_ to say was that Master Hand wouldn't appreciate the guys sharing their beds with us – _**not **_in a perverted way, either. I was simply asking about who's sleeping where in our room when we go to sleep!"

Pit's immediate reaction was, "Oh. _Oops_."

Meta Knight advised the angel boy to run for his life.

A certain blue-haired mercenary fell out of his chair laughing. Again.

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><p>Pikachu ran after Jigglypuff, who left the room in an embarrassed rush. She ended up at the door to their room and quietly knocked on it. "Jigglypuff? Are you okay?"<p>

"I just made a fool of myself in front of _all_ the other Smashers _and_ Master Hand. Would _you_ be okay after a fiasco like that if you were in my shoes?" a muffled voice that sounded like its owner had been crying came from the other side.

"At least you don't have it as bad as _Peach_ does – everybody else is still in the dining room taking the mickey out of her!" Pikachu laughed as she finished this lovely statement, glad to hear Jigglypuff giggling from the other side of the door.

"Ain't that the truth," the locks of the door were undone and the pink Pokèmon came out. Her eyes were slightly swollen from crying due to having embarrassed herself so badly, but other than that she seemed fine. "Thanks, Pikachu."

"It's not a problem," the yellow rat replied with a toothy grin. "Now come on, there's still ice-cream to be eaten!"

"Ice-cream?"

Another toothy grin and a sarcastically sinister laugh. "_Ice-cream_."

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><p>Meta Knight and Yoshi had followed Pikachu from a good distance, thus they were able to hear the girls' entire conversation. At first, Meta Knight's eyes had turned royal blue (as tended to happen when he was worried), but as the comment about Peach came up, his eyes had slowly turned magenta, which represented amusement.<p>

Yoshi, however, hadn't noticed his companion's eye color change, because he was too focused listening in. For some reason, when he saw Pikachu light up when her Jigglypuff finally emerged, when he heard that sarcastic laugh, his heart raced a tiny bit. He had noticed _that_, but brushed it aside, assuming it was probably just the after-effects of running after his yellow friend.

"Meta Knight? Yoshi? What are you two doing here?" Jigglypuff asked, head tilted with curiosity. "You weren't _spying_ on us, were you?"

The two in question looked at each other for a second, then sighed. "I wouldn't call it _spying_," Meta Knight answered. "I'd call it _making sure that your friend is okay_."

"That's what I'd call it, too," Yoshi blurted out, "Because that's exactly what it was."

.Pikachu and Jigglypuff smiled. "We were just plotting a conspiracy against the ice-cream. Would y'all like to join us?"

With positive replies, the four friends headed to the cafeteria, ready to execute their plot against the ice-cream.

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><p>In the meantime, Bowser stood protectively in front of Peach (who was now close to tears), yelling at all those who were harassing her. "Leave her alone, she's not to blame," he growled. She looked up at him from behind his shell in wonder. He had stood up for her when Kammy was mean to her during here 'visits' to his castle, but never had he gotten this upset with anyone over her.<p>

"Bowser, it's fine, really," she felt a smile tug at her lips. "Let's go get something to eat."

Arms locked, the princess and the king walked to the cafeteria - and to the beginnings of a brighter relationship between them.


	4. IceCream Metaphors  Opposites Attract

**Disclaimer:** Brawl belongs to Nintendo. Not me.

**Note:** OH MY FREAKIN' GOD. The e-mail I use for this story is one I rarely check, so I was _extremely_ surprised to see that I got three more wonderful reviews when I checked my status. Thank you all so much for brightening my day!

**Second Note:** Pit has an Irish accent. A _heavy_ Irish accent.

**Dedication:** This chapter is dedicated to all the lovely reviewers thus far – Umbreon Mastah, PikaYoshiGirl, Dr. Dude, and godzillahomer. Thanks again for the lovely feedback!

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><p><strong>Chapter 4: IceCream Metaphors - Opposites Attract<strong>

There was a lovely princess in pink staring out of the window near her table, where she sat with a certain Koopa king in front of her. The princess, Peach, was still embarrassed about what had happened in the dining room a while earlier, so she decided not to risk further making a fool of herself and stay silent.

"Peach, it's all right to talk, you know," Bowser the Koopa king told her. "I'm personally glad that you shut those perverts up. You did almost a good a job as I could've!" he gave a sarcastic grin, letting her know that his conceitedness was put in for the sake of humor.

Blonde hair was pushed back as she turned to look at him. "I'm glad I did you some justice, then. How have the kids been since my last 'visit'?" she smiled for the first time since the dinner incident.

For whatever reason (Bowser knew what it was, but would never admit to it), something about that smile made him nervous. "The koopalings have been pretty great – they all miss their 'Mama Peach', though. Especially Junior and Ludwig, they seem to take to you the most."

Sapphire eyes closed as she remembered Bowser's kids, special memories that she had made with each of them. Sneaking cookies with Bowser Junior, playing Tag with Larry and Morton Junior… Shopping with Wendy and Iggy, buying new sunglasses for Roy's birthday, and composing music with Ludwig. "I miss them too," Peach admitted. "They're great kids, maybe after this Party is over…" she stopped herself. Toadsworth would _kill_ her for going to one of Bowser's castles willingly!

"Yes?"

"I was going to say that maybe I could visit after the Party; _really_ visit I mean, for as long as I want to. I do owe you one act of kindness for sticking up for me back there."

Bowser was pleased with the suggestion. "We'll work everything out after all this is over. They'd love to see you," he finished, not adding his thought of, _And it would be nice to __**not**_ _have to worry about the Mario Brothers taking you away for once._

They continued to make small talk and eat their meals. Peach had a feeling that a vacation with the koopalings would be great.

She didn't want to think about how much she'd enjoy being with Bowser.

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><p>Meta Knight and Jigglypuff watched as their friends walked ahead of them, chatting about the most random things… Wait, was that <em>flirting<em> on Yoshi's end? Jigglypuff giggled when such a thought came into her mind, but not out of spite; on the contrary, she thought it was cute.

"What are you over there 'heehee'ing about?" Meta Knight turned to the pink Pokèmon.

Green eyes met still-magenta ones as an answer was waited for. "Well, I was just looking and Pikachu and Yoshi," she whispered, "And it seems to me like Yoshi's flirting a little bit."

From behind his mask, the mysterious Dream Land resident smiled. "I noticed the same thing myself. Pikachu seems like she's trying to return it a bit."

It was then that the four of them entered the cafeteria. Jigglypuff tapped Pikachu's shoulder, quietly pointing out Bowser and Peach, who were laughing while having a good time. They were too busy to notice the area's newest occupants; each one was focusing on what the other had to say.

There were at _least_ fifty flavors of ice-cream in the serving machine. Meta Knight somehow got the feeling that fifty wasn't enough. "Hey, Jigglypuff, what kind of ice-cream do you want?"

"Oh, you're getting it, Meta Knight?" she asked in return. "Hm. I think I'll get plain Vanilla," she smiled. Vanilla was always her favorite flavor, and it was a damn good comfort food as well.

Yoshi offered to get Pikachu's, despite her protests. "It's fine, Pikachu, really! You and Jigglypuff should just sit down and have some girl time while Meta and I get the food," he gently pushed her toward the closest table.

With a small huff, Pikachu sat down next to her pink friend. "So, you like Vanilla, eh? Meta Knight seems to like Chocolate," she nodded at the bowls of ice-cream in the masked warrior's hand – one full of Vanilla ice-cream, one full of Chocolate. "Vanilla and Chocolate really do go together quite well, if you catch my drift," the yellow rat winked.

Jigglypuff's face turned red. "I get your drift… But we would _never_ work out. Besides, I don't think you have room to talk – look at what ice-cream flavors are in Yoshi's hands!"

Pikachu looked over and gasped. Her green friend held Mint-Chocolate Chip and Cookies-n-Cream flavored ice-cream.

"Two more opposites that work pretty well together, ne?" green eyes sparkled at the thought of a matchmaking opportunity.

Secretly, she also started entertaining the thought of courting a certain masked Knight...

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><p>Nana was in her room playing video games when someone knocked on her door. Sighing with a bit of frustration due to having paused right before a boss battle, she opened the door to see Toon Link. "Hey there!" she couldn't help but smile, he was such a happy-go-lucky kid, and it seemed that his upbeat happiness was quite contagious.<p>

"Hi!" the young hero answered. "Can I play video games with you? Zelda and Samus kicked me out of our room so they could talk, and everyone else I've asked to hang out with has either laughed at me, told me to come back later, or they're too busy being all lovey-dovey."

The female ice climber pulled down her hood. "Sure! I just need to finish a boss battle right quick, 'kay?"

"'Kay!"

So they decided to play video games well into the night.

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><p>By the gods, he wanted to get to know her better. She had only said one or two minor things to him when they departed from the foyer, but the look in her eyes, her body language and soft-spoken words, those things seemed to call out. The most microscopic of details about her provoked his want to befriend her, at the very least. She was a beauty of her own, to say the least.<p>

Marth sighed, banging his head on the desk in his room for the umpteenth time.

"What's tae matter wit' you?" Pit asked, Irish accent heavy as ever. "That's pro'ly the _hundredth_ time ye've done that in the past half-hour!"

The prince was smart enough to know that if he discovered the truth, Link would probably murder him. "I'm just over-analyzing things, that's all." It wasn't the whole truth, but it wasn't really a lie, either. So that would have to do.

"Aye, then stop analyzin' so much, it's aggravatin' to hear your head thump on the table over and over again," the angel replied. "Don't tink about it so much."

Ike decided to butt in. "Marth, whatever's bothering you, don't hold it in too long. That's bad for you."

"But you do that very thing yourself, Ike. We're from the same world, I think I know you well enough to know that."

A chuckle emerged from the mercenary's lips. "There's a difference between us, though. You have friends to go to, people that _care_, I don't."

"Ike, you've got the three of us," Link pointed out as he turned to look at his fellow swordsman from the miniature television on the floor. "That should count for _something_."

"I'll keep that in mind," Ike droned, voice full of sarcasm.

For that, Pit slapped him upside the head.

For Ike, the fight was on.

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><p>A couple hours later, everyone in the cafeteria decided to head to their respective rooms. "So, as I was trying to ask at dinner," Jigglypuff piped up, "Who's sleeping where?"<p>

"I don't know about y'all, but _I_ want that chair-bed thing, it's comfortable," Pikachu answered. "You three can fight for the beds."

"You do realize we're going to have to put a screen up so Master Hand doesn't think we're doing anything," Meta Knight told his roommates as he held the door for them. When he closed it behind him, he finished with, "So Jigglypuff, you decide next."

She thought about it for a moment before replying. "I want the bed next to the window. You get the best view of the sunrise from there."

"You're actually going to be _up_ for the sunrise?" Yoshi asked cynically. He couldn't imagine _anyone_ being up that early.

"Yep! And don't worry Pikachu, I won't wake you up."

Pikachu smiled. "You better not, or I'll pound you."

With that, they put up the divider screen in the room, Jigglypuff put on a light blue nightgown while Yoshi took off his shoes and saddle (thus deciding that while he was here, he wouldn't wear the damn thing, _period_) and Meta Knight threw his cape aside.

Every Smasher crawled into bed, eagerly awaiting the next morning.


	5. Meet, Greet, & the Omniscient Hand

**Disclaimer:** Brawl belongs to Nintendo. Not me.

**Note: **Good GRIEF, it's been ages since I worked on this! I am SO SORRY about the delays! I have a terrible habit of using the word _and_ a lot. Please forgive me for that, it's a natural habit of mine, though I plan to fix it.

**Second Note:** The Party _finally_ begins in this chapter! Also note that this is based on the _N64_ version of Mario Party, aka the _first ever _Mario Party game to be released. So that's why the mini-games aren't updated to Mario Party 8… However, after I play 8, I will update accordingly. I do not, however, plan on changing the first chapters of the Party to accommodate for the update.

**Dedication:** This chapter is dedicated to PikaYoshiGirl, Dr. Dude, Umbreon Mastah, godzillahomer, Mind Seeker, LinkwithRedSox, and anyone else who still has hope in this fic. Thanks for all the lovely reviews!

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><p><strong>Chapter 5: Meet, Greet, &amp; the Omniscient Hand<strong>

Whispering voices. A blur of a person running in the tall grass. Sparkling eyes and a wicked smile. These things haunted Link in his dreams, and when it came time for the blur to open that huge black door with the silver doorknobs, the green-clad Hero of Light sat up, screaming in terror. He didn't want to know what was beyond that door because the unknown terrified him.

Pit, Ike, and Marth immediately turned on the lamps in their room, asking what was wrong. Link simply shook his head and lay down again. The others shrugged and went back to sleep, deciding that it was simply a moment of hallucination.

Link didn't want to tell them that he felt like he was going insane.

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><p>The sun rose, as it usually did, upon Smash Mansion. A certain green-eyed balloon Pokèmon sat up in her bed and faced the window so that she could see the beautiful sight.<p>

Shades of orange, pink, blue, purple, and a speck of black here and there spread across the sky, reflected upon the water, and cast shadows upon the mansion and the grass, signaling the beginning of a new day. With the sun's rising, the night stars disappeared, reluctant and not so pleased to go. Green eyes looked beyond the screen at her floaty companion. She smiled and gently touched the screen before trying to get a couple more hours of sleep.

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><p>As the sun was blaring in his eyes, Wolf sat up, looking at the nearest clock on the wall. "It's only seven? Damn," he muttered. "Might as well get something to eat."<p>

Quietly as possible, the Star Fox crew member walked into the kitchen only to see a very disgruntled Samus. "I can not believe that we are out of caffeinated coffee. Again… Oh, hi Wolf."

"Hi. Did you say that we're _out_ of caffeinated coffee?" he gave her a sideways glance before heading towards the bagels.

Samus sighed. "I did. All of it's in the cafeteria, which isn't open until everyone's up… And that'll be a while."

"That sucks. What'll you do until then?"

"I'll do what I always do when we're out of coffee: drink lots of Mountain Dew," and as she said this, she pulled out one of the many two-liters and two cups. "Would you like to join me while we wait?"

Wolf smiled. "Sure."

Maybe this Samus girl wasn't all that bad.

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><p>Marth had been up for hours, since he was an early bird by nature. Not knowing what else to do with himself, he walked outside, letting the cool morning air soothe his nerves. His mind was plagued with thoughts of that one princess, and the more he tried to fight those thoughts, the more they came back to him. So he gave up that fight.<p>

"Marth? What are you doing out here?" Zelda's voice dominated the air.

He had to battle with his instinct to blush for a moment before turning around to greet her. "I just needed some air. How about you?"

"The same. It sure is beautiful out here, isn't it?"

All that Marth could do was nod in response, otherwise he would've let out some sort of cheesy romantic line… This would cause Link to be very angry at him. Violent, even. So he said nothing, and they walked on.

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><p>Everyone met in the dining room of the mansion at around nine for breakfast. Any morning time dish you could imagine, it was there. The great variety excited everyone, and all of them ate happily.<p>

"Attention everyone!" Master Hand yelled. "The party will begin shortly, but first, we will have a drawing to see who is going into the first Party, since only four can go in at a time. We will first draw room numbers (accompanied by letters that determine which wing you're in), and then a number between one and four. The second set of numbers determines which person out of the room will go. When your name is called, please stand. The drawing will now start."

Silence.

It fell across the room like a marble slowly falling off a table, and when it finally hit, the silence was demanding.

"Eleven-B, number three: Marth." Marth stood, strong and silent.

"Three-A, number one: Mr. Game & Watch." Not a word, but beeps instead.

"Fifteen-C, number four: Ganondorf." Despite his expected battlecry, he too was silent.

"Six-D, number three: Captain Olimar." With a wave of Pikmin, he rose, accepting the challenge with grace.

Master Hand could feel the nervousness of the room as he called the first Party members to the Party area, so he called out, "You all can watch from the big screen TV if you'd like. It'll start airing in about half an hour."

_Poof! Bang!_ And the omniscient hand disappeared. There was a mad rush to the television, and some bickering over the seating arrangements followed.

The Party was to take place in Luigi's Engine Room, one of the hardest boards in the game.

No one knew how much harder it had become.


	6. The First Turn of Irony

**Disclaimer: **Brawl belongs to Nintendo. Not me.

**Note: ***twitches* Almost two months without updating this fic - then a year (or years) to find time to revise. All of you have probably forgotten me by now, hehehehe. If, by some miracle, you remember this fic, I am SO sorry for taking so long to update! College + planning for NaNoWriMo

**Second Note:** I can't remember the space color pattern on the boards, so if I mess up (and I know I will), please tell me where and I'll fix it post-haste. I think this chapter starts things off rather well. I hope you like it!

**Dedication:** This chapter is for all of you who actually noticed my return. You all are amazing.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6: The First Turn of Irony<strong>

The remote was gone. Of _all _the times in the world for it to be gone, Pikachu thought that this was definitely one of the worst.

"Who had it last?" asked Peach.

"Where did they put it?" asked Diddy.

"How could we have lost it at a time like this?" asked Nana.

As the aggression over the small thing rose, the television mysteriously turned on alone. "You will not need the remote for this," the familiar voice of a familiar hand called, "but if you want regular television, I'd advise that you find it." And the voice was gone.

It was at that very moment that the television screen slowly faded from black to a bright array of colors to make the shape of a certain Party board.

"The engine room," Luigi exclaimed, "That's the hardest board we've ever had to go through!"

Mario noticed several pairs of eyes widen at what his brother said, and elbowed him. "Don't tell them that! Everyone's got a bad-a feeling about this-a Party as it is!"

After Master Hand confirmed all of the Party information, Marth, Mr. Game & Watch, Ganondorf, and Olimar found themselves being greeted by a small yellow koopa with a dark green shell. The koopa explained the low-down of the Party and its members hit the blocks to determine the order in which they'd move across the board.

"Olimar will go first, followed by Ganondorf, Marth, and Mr. Game & Watch." After giving each male ten coins, the koopa walked away.

The block indicating how many spaces each member of the Party would move appeared, and Olimar (solemn as usual) stepped up to hit the block. A huge 5 appeared, causing Olimar to step up and move five spaces, thus landing on a blue space and gaining three coins.

Ganondorf's roll of 6 ended in him landing on a red space, which caused the King of Evil some aggravation as he lost three coins.

Marth got a 10, guaranteeing him a blue space (and three extra coins) as well. Mr. Game & Watch landed on a red space as well, so he was left with a total of seven coins, and the first mini-game of the first Party was about to begin.

Master Hand's voice echoed across the board, "As all of you know – or _should_ know, anyway – the end of Mr. Game & Watch's turn marks the first Mini-Game of this party. I hope you like it cold, gentlemen. It'll certainly be cold where you're going."

Bobsled Run was the name. Getting to the finish line safely was the game.

* * *

><p>Marth, Olimar, Ganondorf, and Mr. Game &amp; Watch were transported to an icy underground cave, sleds at the ready. A quick run-through of the rules explained that one person would steer the sled, and the other would balance it, on a bobsledding course. Whichever team got to the finish line first would win.<p>

"What of the losers?" asked Marth.

He recieved no answer, and the race began.

* * *

><p>In the living room of Smash Mansion, cheers rang out, mostly for Marth and Olimar. The only ones who cheered for Ganondorf and Mr. Game &amp; Watch were Dedede, Bowser, Wario, and R.O.B. A certain Hyrulian resident's eyes followed the blue sled with a concentration and worry that was unmatched. "Come on Marth," Zelda whispered. "You can do this. You can win."<p>

Pikachu was on the edge of her seat as the sleds took a very sharp turn on the course that caused both sleds to tip a bit before touching the ice and hitting a straight stretch. She turned to Red with a grin, saying, "This is better than battling Team Rocket!" That in turn caused Yoshi to give her a sideways glance and a smile.

Red laughed, nodding in agreement with the rebellious Pokemon as all those cheering for Ganondorf let out a huge roar of disapproval as Marth and Olimar's sled skidded past the finish line. The screen turned black for a moment before the board reappeared, rewarding Marth and Olimar with ten coins each.

The tension of the room eased as Olimar stepped up for his second turn. Relief spread across the room like wildfire, and all seemed well.

Except Link. He couldn't help but to think that something was horribly, _horribly_ wrong.


	7. Oh, the Tangled Webs Hearts Weave

**Disclaimer:** Brawl belongs to Nintendo. Not me.

**Note:** Thanks to being knocked out of my Writer's Block, I can update more frequently again, aren't you excited? I hope you like the chapter!

**Second Note: **I don't have the capacity to describe every single turn in every single Party, thus, after a turn or two, I will skip a bunch of turns unless there's a surprise plot element. Brownie points go to anyone who catches the song reference. Also, the pick-up lines are from ecrush(dot)com, not me.

**Dedication:** Mind Seeker, for giving me inspiration through her fics and mail. Then there's all of the wonderful reviewers that have kept this thing going. You all get major kudos from me.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7: Oh the Tangled Webs Hearts Weave<strong>

Time seemed to fly on the Party Board. In Smash Mansion, however, time couldn't go fast enough. Everyone in the lounge of the mansion was ready for the party to be over so they could sleep worry-free.

Master Hand's voice came seemingly out of nowhere, booming, "All right; due to the late hour, the rest of this Party will have to be postponed to tomorrow." A white-orange light appeared, and the first four Party members stumbled from the light onto the living room floor. "Dinner will be served in thirty minutes." With that, Master Hand was gone.

Ganondorf, Olimar, Mr. Game & Watch, and Marth suddenly found themselves being bombarded with questions. "What was it like?"

"Do you even know where you were?"

"Is it as cool as it looks on the TV?"

"Hold up, wait a minute –"

"Put a little love in it!"

Marth resisted the urge to send the Mushroom princess an evil glare for interrupting him. "Settle down, all of you!" he yelled. "We'll give you details after dinner… Well, it's more like _I'll_ be giving you details since Mr. Game & Watch can only be understood by one person, Ganondorf will probably be too stubborn to say anything, and Olimar's mute."

Excited, consenting murmurs spread throughout the room. The Smashers paired up with their closest friends and began discussing different things, from what they'd be served for dinner to who's the hottest female Smasher.

* * *

><p>Yoshi, Meta Knight, Pikachu, and Jigglypuff all grouped up, deciding to head to the dining room early. As usual, Pikachu and Yoshi walked ahead of the other two, the latter flirting with the former quite helplessly. "So, what are some of the best pick-up lines you've ever heard, Pikachu?"<p>

Pikachu grinned. "One of the best ones I've heard is, 'I can sense that you're a terrific lover, and it intimidates me a little.' Red used that one on his friend Blue once, it was _hilarious._ Oh, then there's 'You are my rose, I am your tree, and our love will be our garden.' Those are my two favorites. So what about you; what are some of your top pick-up lines?"

"Hm. Let's see… Aha! 'I'm fighting the urge to make you the happiest woman on Earth tonight', 'The man of your dreams was on his way, but I beat the crap out of him so I could get to you first', 'If you throw it, I'll catch it', and 'Does this rag smell like chloroform?'. Those are definitely my top ones."

The response Yoshi got was exactly the one he wanted; by the time he finished his list of pick-up lines, Pikachu was almost roaring with laughter. "I've gotta remember the chloroform one…" she answered as she caught her breath. "And that one about the guy of your dreams. Those are awesome pick-ups."

Jigglypuff's eyes twinkled. "They'd make such a cute couple," she told Meta Knight. "Don't you think so?"

Meta Knight nodded. "You know, they actually would. I'm usually not the type for this romance stuff, but I know some other people that would make great couples…"

"Oh really? Who?"

The mysterious Star Warrior's eyes turned magenta. "You'll find out soon enough, Jigglypuff, I assure you. Some of them should be coming in for dinner soon," he noted. He side-glanced at the pink Pokèmon as he noticed that she looked prettiest when she was happy, then he kicked that musing into the back of his mind… For now. He couldn't afford to be developing feelings for her – not here, not now.

Green eyes met magenta-turned-blue for a moment. "What's wrong, Meta Knight?"

"It's nothing, Jigglypuff, don't worry," suddenly royal blue eyes turned yellow.

A small, pink hand covered Meta Knight's gloved one. Jigglypuff gently squeezed his hand before whispering to him, "I'll talk to you later. Okay?"

"Fine."

Samus walked into the dining room with Wolf, and they sat across from each other. Soon Marth and Zelda came in, followed by Nana and Toon Link, and Bowser walking in with Peach. Then the others came in at the last minute, sitting down with the Smashers they were closest to.

For dinner: poultry. From duck to quail to turkey, all sorts of cooked birds and side dishes were laid out on the table. Each Smasher gladly dug in, to each his or her own.

* * *

><p>As they walked back to their rooms, Marth and Zelda found that they were holding hands. When the two members of royalty saw this, they blushed, but neither one moved to change the fact. Eventually they ended up at Zelda's room.<p>

"I guess this is your stop," Marth told her nervously. "Should I come and meet you for breakfast tomorrow?"

Zelda smiled. "That'd be nice," and kissed Marth on the cheek. "Good night." She closed the door.

As Marth left for his room, he couldn't help but smile.

* * *

><p>Luigi was on his merry way to his room when all of a sudden - <em>wham! <em>- he bumped into Link. "Oh, I'm-a so-a sorry! ...What's-a wrong?" he noticed the sad look in the Hero of Light's eyes.

A sigh came from the Hyrulian boy. "Zelda likes Marth, and Marth likes her... The catch is, I like Zelda too. A lot. It hurts pretty badly."

The green-hatted plumber whistled as harsh memories came back. "That's a pretty harsh-a. I've been in the same-a situation."

"Really? How did you handle it?"

"I-a saw that Daisy was happy with Waluigi, and I-a moved on. For-a her sake, and my own."

"Thanks a lot, Luigi," Link smiled. "I appreciate it."

"It's not-a problem. Good-a night."

"Good night."

* * *

><p>Meta Knight sat on the roof alone at five til midnight. His eyes changed color constantly, which happened when he couldn't pinpoint his emotions. He heard the door to the roof creak open, forcing his eyes to stay yellow and his voice to stay level as Jigglypuff came and sat beside him.<p>

"Seriously, man, what's wrong?" Of course she'd cut to the chase; that was just Jigglypuff being herself.

"I've been worried about this Party, is all," he answered. It wasn't a complete lie, something about the Party really did unnerve him. He couldn't tell her the entire truth until he knew for sure what he was feeling. _Or is it that I already know, but I won't tell?_

Jigglypuff grabbed his hand for the second time that day. "Meta Knight, _look_ _at me_," she murmured. He did so with no protest. "Everything will work out as it should, don't worry so much." Without a second thought, she hugged her friend. "It'll be all right at the end. I promise," she gave him a smile, "Now I'm going to bed. Good night."

As she left for their room, she couldn't help but notice that her heart was racing. What exactly was she feeling?


	8. It's a Brawl Before the Party

**Disclaimer:** Brawl belongs to Nintendo. Not me.

**Note:** Jesus jumping God. What a hell of a writers' block I've had... It's taken me quite a while to find time to revise as well.

**Second Note: **This is just a jump-start chapter so that I may be able to actually update regularly. Also, HUZZAH! Revising for the win!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8: It's a Brawl Before the Party<strong>

The next morning, every Smasher awoke bright and early, rushing to the first floor of Smash Mansion so they could eat breakfast. Pit was walking down with Sonic, and the two were talking about all sorts of things when they came downstairs.

"Hey, Pit?" the blue hedgehog asked cautiously, "Is it me, or are there a _lot_ of couples – or potential couples - in Smash Mansion?"

Blue eyes looked around carefully, observing Bowser and Peach walking beside Meta Knight and Jigglypuff, Wolf and Samus sending each other small glances across the room, along with several other now-obvious couples. "Well I'll be damned, ye're right, Sonic! They're _everywhere_!"

Sonic nodded and replied, "Some of them are obvious, others… Not so – " he was cut off as a hyperactive Lucas ran into him, knocking him into Pit, thus causing all three of them to roll down the stairs in a three-person mass of chaos.

After landing at the bottom of the stairs, the trio bumped into Wario, who summoned his bike, which was then inhaled by Kirby. Pikachu almost fell, but was caught by an ever-so-slightly-embarrassed Yoshi right when Ganondorf ran into Bowser's shell, causing the Koopa King to stomp on his enemy's friend's tail, resulting in a screech of pain.

Simultaneously, Mario and Luigi triple-jumped into the wad, throwing punches at whoever they could reach. One of the blows hit Diddy Kong, who flew into Donkey Kong, and that provoked both of them to join the fight as well. Having seen the beginning of the whole mess from the top of the stairs, Ike willingly jumped in after pulling Marth with him. Zelda was dragged into the fight right as she finished transforming into Sheik, and the tight-knit fight continued throughout Smash Mansion.

"ENOUGH!" Master Hand dived down to the core of the thing and separated all the Smashers involved. "What happened, who started this?"

Sonic and Pit gave each other a quick glance and stood up. "Well, Master Hand," said Sonic, "Pit and I were just walking to the cafeteria, when a sugar-high Lucas ran into us and – "

"Which one of you was _stupid_ enough to give Lucas sugar?" asked Ness. Being from the same world as Lucas and having to find out the hard way, he had learned that you do _not_ give the blonde boy sugar… _**Ever**_.

Lucas gave a slightly manic giggle. "I got one of Peach's cupcakes from the counter in the cafeteria! It was great!"

Master Hand pointed at Peach and gave her a 'come here' signal. "No more cupcakes on the counter, okay?"

Peach looked at the blonde boy and sighed, "Yes, sir."

At that point, Lucas fell over, exhausted. The sugar had taken quite a toll on him, and Kirby, Lucario, Pikachu, and Jigglypuff hurriedly picked him up and took him to the infirmary. Only the best of nurses could lessen the aftermath of such a mighty sugar-high.

"Marth, Ganondorf, Mr. Game & Watch, and Olimar, please report to the Party area immediately after you eat breakfast. You've got a Party, to finish, you know…" and with that, Master Hand disappeared.

The four Party members stepped into line for breakfast, awaiting the last few turns that would end it – the thing was enjoyable, but at the same time, their nerves were shot, and Link was no longer the only one thinking that something was wrong.

"Attention, everyone!" Master Hand yelled via intercom. "The Party will begin in an hour. Please meet in the lounge in thirty minutes. Thank you!"


	9. Surprise! Says the Villain

**Disclaimer: **Brawl belongs to Nintendo. Not me.

**Note:** Good. Lord. I am finally back from the dead. "And all said hallelujah."

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9: Surprise! Says the Villain<strong>

Exactly twenty-five minutes later, every Smasher (including the now sugar-detoxed Lucas) found themselves sitting in the lounge, all spread out rather comfortably within their little groups.

Master Hand swooped into the room with great gusto, exclaiming, "Oh good, all of you are being punctual today! Very good indeed…" And with a gesture towards the television, the lights dimmed and Marth, Ganondorf, Mr. Game & Watch, and Olimar found themselves on the Party board again.

As of now, it was Marth's turn, and he hit the block with no absolute hesitation whatsoever. A number six appeared and disappeared in a flash, and then the blue-haired prince landed on a red space.

Zelda's eyes worriedly watched her newfound crush walk across the board and sighed, clasping her hands together as a sort of self-comfort.

Suddenly, the engines stopped whirring, and any movement in the Party was suspended. It was not the voice of Master Hand that answered the screams and cries, but Crazy Hand.

"Ah ha ha! At last, I have thwarted you tiny Smashers!" he cackled between mad laughs. "You better hope these Parties save you… Or Tabuu _will_ rise again!"

With that, after the convenient hand-napping of Marth, time was restarted and the Party was on again.

Link buried his face in his hands, regretting that he hadn't told anyone of his suspicions sooner. Tears rose into Zelda's eyes, Ike readied his sword, Pit and Sonic cursed, and Peach clung to Bowser's hand for dear life. Captain Falcon and Snake seemed to show no emotion at all.

Red, Wario, Diddy Kong, and Donkey Kong were all stunned beyond words. Popo, Nana, and Toon Link held onto each other and cried in silence; Pikachu, Yoshi, Meta Knight, and Jigglypuff huddled together for moral support.

Ganondorf, Olimar, and Mr. Game & Watch were beyond shock. Master Hand summoned the three remaining Party members from the board, and demanded that everyone be quiet (for he knew that calming them down was just ridiculous).

"I don't know what to do," the saner hand admitted as he floated around the room. "On one hand, the Parties will save us all, but on the other hand, they're also Crazy Hand's prime access to everyone in this building; we are _all_ targets."

Jigglypuff looked around the room at all her fellow Smashers, noticing that they were all united again.

"The Party is off until I decide what to do. Feel free to do what you please, but _stay inside the Mansion_." And with that, Master Hand disappeared.

About half the Smashers stayed huddled in the lounge, while the others went to get food for everyone. Pikachu, Yoshi, Meta Knight, Jigglypuff, Samus, Wolf, Pit, and Sonic all entered the cafeteria in, gathering every type of container they could find to hold food.

As they finished gathering everything they needed, Jigglypuff told everyone in the room, "This is probably the most united we've ever been. And I know it sounds lame coming from me, but I am willing to fight to the death for anyone in this entire mansion – you guys are my family, end of story."

Samus smiled at her pink friend. "You're sweet, even in times like this. I think I can speak for everyone when I say that, even though we tease you – some more so than others – we all care about you and/or love you, even if that love is just of siblings or friends."

With tears in her eyes, Jigglypuff led the group back to the lounge, and together, all of the Smashers ate heartily, though in fear.


	10. The Party Begins Again

**Disclaimer:** Brawl belongs to Nintendo. Not me.

**Note:** Ha! You all thought I was dead, didn't you? Now I'm back with revisions! :D

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10: The Party Begins Again<strong>

As the Smashers sat in the living room of Smash Mansion, eating and voicing their fears of what would happen to Marth, the first to be taken by Crazy Hand, Meta Knight's eyes changed color. Yoshi noticed the change in his puffball friend immediately.

"What's wrong, Meta Knight?" the green dragon whispered.

"Nothing's wrong," he whispered. Then, loud enough for everyone to hear him, he said, "I'm going to talk to Master Hand. I'll be back."

Every Smasher in the room looked at him, concerned. "Be careful man," Ike told him. "We don't need anymore mishaps –"

"Which is _exactly_ why I'm going. I've learned to always keep my weapon on hand, and I can take care of myself."

"Are you sure that you don't want someone else with you? I mean, considering the circumstances –" Bowser asked, the slightest amount of worry in his voice.

"_No_. That would be one more Smasher put in danger if anything was to happen."

There were others words of advice and goodbyes, but the small swordsman noticed Jigglypuff's silence. Looking at her, he said plainly, "I'll be _fine_, Jigglypuff. I promise."

She just looked at him evenly, her eyes saying more than words could hope for. His heart raced as he nodded to her and turned, heading towards the door. The love he felt for her spread across the room.

The door closed behind him, and Jigglypuff cried.

* * *

><p>Finally, with nothing to interrupt him through the journey, Meta Knight reached the room which held Master Hand. Cautiously, he knocked three times before hearing a weary, "Come in."<p>

As the door opened, Master Hand suddenly sighed with relief, "Oh, Meta Knight. Thank goodness… I'm assuming you have an idea?"

Smiling behind his mask, the puffball nodded. "Yes. But I will not carry it out without your consent, since your priority is keeping us together."

"You want to go in there, don't you? And try to get Marth?"

"That is my plan, yes."

"But, Meta Knight, you do _realize_ that you have to go into a Party to even _attempt_ that, right?"

"I figured I could do it alone."

"Have you _lost your mind_?" In a mad gesture, the hand accidentally knocked over the PA system that let him communicate throughout the mansion if he wasn't up to being mystical.

The device turned on as it hit the floor.

* * *

><p>Pikachu, Peach, and Samus had all gathered around Jigglypuff, hugging her and holding her hand. Every Smasher knew how she felt about Meta Knight… Well, every Smasher <em>but<em> her.

Suddenly, Master Hand's voice came out of the speakers placed throughout the mansion.

"_Have you_ **_lost your mind_**?"

"…Have _you_?"

The hand screamed in frustration. "Meta Knight, to attempt a Party alone –"

Everyone gasped as they heard his words. In her anxiety, Jigglypuff almost _flew_ to Master Hand's office, slamming the office door open as she arrived.

"Meta Knight, you are _insane_!"

"What? How did –"

Jigglypuff gestured pointed to the speaker on the floor. "The PA's turned on!" she yelled. Tears were running helplessly down her face; despite the onslaught of emotions, she couldn't help but inwardly be amused at her best friend's surprised expression. Her speech continued, "Why do you _have_ to do everything alone, huh! You have _friends_ for a _reason_! And _everybody _wants Marth to come back safely!"

She took a deep breath before continuing, "Meta Knight, you don't have to do this alone."

Master Hand had gave a small moan. "Well then, I guess we're going to have to have another Party. Who all's willing to attempt to save Marth?"

Besides Meta Knight and Jigglypuff, Ike, Zelda, Link, Donkey Kong, Bowser, Peach, Yoshi, Pikachu, Mario, Luigi, and Samus all volunteered immediately. "All right, we have plenty of volunteers, but one Party can only have four members at a time… And I'd rather make balanced teams than base them on groups, so the first Party is: Bowser, Meta Knight, Samus, and Jigglypuff."

After the four of them had gathered, Master Hand yelled, "To the Party wing!"

With the snap of a finger, they were gone.

"Pick your board, ladies and gentlemen; from what I've discovered, Crazy Hand can get to any one of them from wherever he is."

It was decided that the group would venture to DK's Treetop Temple.

* * *

><p>In the darkness, Crazy Hand laughed.<p> 


	11. A Deeper Evil

**Disclaimer:** Brawl belongs to Nintendo. Not me.

**Note:** My first work of fanfiction to hit 10K words! :D This -revised- update is worth it, wouldn't you say? *cackles*

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 11: A Deeper Evil<strong>

Meta Knight inhaled deeply as he, Samus, Bowser, and Jigglypuff were teleported to DK's Treetop temple. As much as he hated to admit it, he was afraid of what could happen - not to him, but to the other Smashers. The small swordsmen had a gut feeling that the Party members were not the only ones in danger, and at this thought, he gripped the hilt of his sword more tightly than ever.

To his right, Samus was looking around, calculating, measuring her probability of passing the many barrels (one of which was right on a blue space not far in front of them), banana peels, and visible traps that her blue eyes could see. _More important_, she mused, _are the traps we __**cannot**__ see. And there are bound to be plenty of those._

Bowser was steel-faced, muttering what could be assumed to be spells under his breath. Having ruled this board before, he knew what evil lie in his spaces ahead; he had warned the others of these trick spaces that could cost them. He also advised that anyone who landed upon one be on their guard, insisting that they heighten their defenses in the circumstance that Crazy Hand probably put more magic on them than Bowser could prevent.

Jigglypuff could not be read. Her eyes were void of all feeling, her lips pursed in a tense, concentrative way. She was praying with all her might that everything be okay, for this Party to be the one to save Marth, despite the fact that she knew nothing was ever that simple. Sighing, she took in her surroundings, trying to plan for what was ahead.

* * *

><p>Samus was the first to go. Rolling a '7', she managed to pass the first barrel with ease, and landed on a red space. She smiled at Meta Knight, who was second to go. He ended up being one space ahead of her, which was blue - he shrugged and silently wished his companion the best of luck in the first minigame.<p>

Jigglypuff ended up landing on a red space, as did Bowser. They, along with Samus, teamed up against Meta Knight in a game called Pirahna's Pursuit. The team pounded on the storm cloud, causing their pirahna to grow as it gave chase to the Dreamland denizen, who skateboarded his way over logs, rocks, and other fallen jungle debris.

The game ended in success, and soon Samus was making progress upon the board again.

* * *

><p>Cheers erupted in the lounge as twenty turns passed with no harm inflicted upon the Party members. "Go, Samus, go!" Wolf yelled as he whistled. "Yeah!"<p>

So far, everyone was neck-and-neck in a fierce tie. They all competed like champions.

Link and Ike whooped for Meta Knight, swords held high, as numerous outbursts for Bowser and Jigglypuff came about so that specific remarks could no longer be heard.

Just as all was going well, time was suspended in the Party.

Pikachu screamed.

* * *

><p>Crazy Hand's palm covered the television screen. "Hello again," he greeted them with a cackle. "The Treetop Temple? Nice choice... Tell me, who shall I take today? It's your all's choice. You have sixty seconds."<p>

"What kind of game are you playing at!" Sonic yelled. "This is dangerous, Crazy Hand - don't you know what can happen!"

"Yes," a hiss replied. "I know _**exactly**_ what I'm doing - you have ten seconds, or I choose."

No one said anything else for fear of provoking him and for fear of their companions. They did not know what would happen if they chose, or what would happen if they didn't. It seemed that Smash Mansion was in the same state as the Party board - frozen, suspended in time.

* * *

><p>"Fine then. I shall take Jigglypuff!"<p>

Lightning struck the board, allowing the participants to be unfrozen. Bowser's magic had allowed his mind to be free while the others were suspended, so immediately knew what had happened. "No! No, no, no, no, _**no**_!" He slammed his fist into a tree.

"Bowser?" Samus's voice called him. "What happened - WHERE'S JIGGLYPUFF?"

Incoherent curses were the Koopa King's only reply.

Meta Knight panicked before turning his cape to wings and flying fast, searching the entirety of their location for the pink Pokemon. He couldn't see her anywhere. "No... Jigglypuff! Jigglypuff, answer me! JIGGLYPUFF!"

The sound of his sobs was the only thing that could be heard as the three remaining Smashers returned.

* * *

><p>As the chamber door to the Party Wing opened, Meta Knight fell onto the carpet in a heap. Samus gently picked him up and set him onto the couch. His hands covered his masked eyes, and it was all he could do to keep from hurting himself.<p>

A pair of small, caring arms wrapped around him as he cried. Zelda was rubbing his back, whispering calming phrases to him, and he eventually relaxed. When he met the Hyrulian princess's eyes, he knew that she understood his pain better than anyone else.

"You love him?" he asked her simply.

"As much as you love her," she answered back. Standing, she addressed the other Smashers. "As of tonight, we have lost two of our comrades, both of whom are loved infinitely. I don't know about you, but I _**refuse**_ to lose anyone else!"

Yells of agreement went up. "But how are we going to get them back?" asked Diddy Kong.

Bowser stood. "Crazy Hand has a stronger magic than any I've ever come across. He has used a well-layered system of spells to make us believe that we could save Marth by going into that world... We can't! And there are deeper, darker lies than that hidden in his magic; the only way to counter his magic is to go back in - "

"_**What**?_" Yoshi asked. "Are you _**insane**!_"

"It's the only way. Crazy Hand's magic is wearing him down. When his time suspension levels out, we can start working on uprooting his darker spells and getting to the root of what him and Tabuu are planning. Crazy Hand's is some of the darkest spell-work I've seen; this goes beyond ruling the universes... Something truly demented is afoot."

* * *

><p>In another dimension, howls of pain echoed throughout . "Stop! Please!" Jigglypuff begged. "We didn't do anything to you - <em><strong>OW<strong>_!" an invisible blow interrupted her sentence.

Marth was also struggling against his chains. "Crazy Hand, I don't know what you're up to, but you are sick! Stop this madness!"

"What makes you so sure that you're addressing Crazy Hand?"


End file.
